Baked Pork Chops

Last week I planted a few of the seeds I saved from last years pumpkins and decorative crookneck turban squash. They sprouted yesterday. I only planted a few. I wanted to stagger the plantings and see what happens. I am not sure about how the long the vines will tolerate the heat here. I am sure that the shelf life for these decorative squash is long if preserved properly. I bought the squash I took these seeds from last October and they still looked good when I cut them the first week of February

The longneck turban squash is the yellow with green tip in center.  The mini pumpkins are on the left and right corner.

I have a recipe to pass on to you for baked pork chops.  You can use any kind of pork chop you choose. My favorite is a bone in blade chop but last night we used a cut with no bone and it was very good also. No bone makes for a dryer chop. Serve this with a side dish of white rice and a green salad for any easy dinner.

Baked Pork Chops

4 to 6 Pork Chops
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (I usually get the reduced sodium and reduced fat soups)
1 can Cream of Celery Soup
3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 medium onion sliced or chopped
Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic salt
Bread crumbs to cover top I usually use panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Rinse pork and set on plate to drain
• Lightly cover with salt and pepper and garlic salt.
• Place in a oven proof baking dish in a single or double row
• Mix together soups, cheese and onion.
• Pour over chops in dish
• Cover top with panko bread crumbs be sure to pour the crumbs on the edges of the dish this makes a great crunchy crust!
• Bake for an hour at 350 degrees or until top is lightly browned and meat is tender  Let stand for about 5 min. after you take it from the oven. Serve the gravy over white rice.

"Chrome" spring 2010

Destin Sunset Feb. 5, 2011

Mini Cherry Muffins

It's been almost a week since I last blogged. I have been concentrating on making the beds for a small garden. I went to the farm Monday and brought back some shavings from the horse stalls. I have plots for lettuce and tomatoes ready now.  I planted lettuce seeds on the 16th and they are up and will be transplanted when they are about two inches tall. I haven't bought any tomato plants yet, but I am ready for them.
I have to continue working with the dirt. I have two old leaky galvanized troughs, that came from the barn, that I am going to use as planters for the mini white pumpkins. We have an old wicker etegere that has finally given up holding anything so I am going to strip the metal frame of the wicker, wire the shelves to the frame, and plant the mini pumpkins in the trough to run up on the etegere.
I also found some old tent posts in the barn that Daddy used for electric fence post at Spring Creek. They have pointed metal tips so it's easy to push them in the sand. I plan to use these as a tee pee frame for the pumpkins to run on also. I also have bamboo that I will use to make frames for the pumpkins and the loofa gourds. The loofas are going to be growing on the wooden fence running down the East side of the house.
I also have spots picked out for eggplants and squash to grow. I am thinking about planting a few okra plants too on the North side of the house. I am afraid the southern exposure will have too much wind for the stalks to stand tall. Along with herbs of oregano, parsley, sage and thyme, and rosemary and lavender that will be the contents of my garden.
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Yesterday afternoon I made some muffins for Wade to have with his coffee for breakfast. They are delicious. Here's the recipe. Have a great day.

Cherry Mini Muffins

1 1/2 cup Pecans chopped
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Butter room temp.
2 Egg Yolks well beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Cake flour sifted
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder sifted with flour
2 Egg Whites, stiffly beaten
1 jar of Maraschino Cherries, drained

• Separate your eggs while they are cold set yolks aside at room temp. Set the whites back in refrigerator until you are ready to beat them.
• Set butter out until room temp
• Drain Cherries
• Chop pecans in small pieces set aside
• Sift flour and baking soda set aside
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease mini muffin tins and sprinkle chopped pecans in bottom of each. This recipe makes 36 muffins.
• Cut drained Cherries in half set aside
• Beat egg whites until stiff set aside

Cream sugars and room temperature butter together until fluffy.
Add the egg yolks and vanilla, beat well.
Slowly add sifted flour and baking powder, blending well.
Turn off mixer and fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.

Using a teaspoon dip the batter on top of the pecans in the muffin tins and place a cut cherry half in the center of each.

Bake for 10 mins. Remove muffins from tins and place on rack then when all are removed while still warm place in a large bowl or platter and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Allow to cool completely. Store in air tight container.

These muffins are great to carry for an early morning get together. I made them for a large group and used mini cupcake liners and instead of rolling them in powdered sugar I made a glaze with a little milk and confectioner's sugar and drizzled the tops. It's neater when you are having "finger type" food. 
The same recipe would also be good with raspberry or cranberry instead of cherry and add a little orange or lemon zest.
One of my favorite treats for myself is to go to Seaside early in the morning and go to Modica Market and get a Cranberry Orange Muffin and a cup of coffee and go to one of the pavillions on the beach and sit quietly.....may do that when the rain is gone. :)

I planted some of these day lilies this week! Can't wait to see them bloom. These pictures are from spring 2008.

Sweet Baby we called "Chrome."

Chicken Lasagna Recipe

Someone asked for my chicken lasagna recipe. I usually cook a whole chicken but if you don't want to use a whole chicken choose chicken breast with bone in. A lot of good flavor comes from the bone and the skin.
I have made this recipe without the mushrooms with spinach and without the spinach with the mushrooms. Both were delicious.

Chicken Lasagna

Chicken

1 whole chicken

2 stalks Celery chopped

1/2 small Onion chopped

Salt and Pepper to coat

Wash the chicken rub in salt and pepper and put in large pot cover with water add celery, and onion. When leg falls away from breast remove from water and let cool. When cool enough to touch, remove skin and bones and chop 2 cups of chicken.

Mushrooms and Spinach

1 pound of baby Portobello mushrooms chopped

½ of small onion

2 cloves garlic minced

1 stick of butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups warm chicken broth

3 1/2 cups ½ and ½

1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Pinch of nutmeg

1 lb. chopped spinach

Sautee mushrooms in large pan, over medium heat, in 1 stick of butter with onions and garlic, until onions are translucent. Stir in 3 tablespoons flour to make a light roux. Add 2 cups chicken broth from cooked chicken. Stir and cook until smooth. Add the ½ and ½ and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste, and a pinch of nutmeg. Allow to simmer over medium low heat for about 2 to 3 min. until it begins to thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in chopped spinach.

Noodles

9 to 10 lasagna noodles cooked by package directions.

Drain, rinse and cool enough to touch.

Cook these while the mushroom sauce is being made drain, rinse and allow to cool to touch.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Assemble the lasagna in a 9 x 13 oven proof pan. Oil bottom and sides of pan.

Lightly cover the bottom of the pan with the mushroom mixture. Lay 3 noodles on top, and cover with a little more sauce, layer of chicken, layer of sauce. Continue to layer ending with sauce on top.

Bake for about 30 to 35 min. until bubbly in the middle and edges are lightly brown.  Remove from oven and let stand for 5 min. before serving. Great served with a tossed salad with sliced avocado and Italian dressing.

Digging the Sand!

I have spent almost all of my daylight hours the past few days in the sand.....digging up sandspurs, wild lantana in bad locations and those awful thorny bamboo shoots. They all love this sandy mountain. The thorny bamboos are the worst of course, because they bite really hard with huge razor blade sharp thorns.
I have missed alot the past two days while I have been playing weed exterminator in the sand...and not turning on my computer or answering my phone continuously...I had rosy cheeks last night from the sun.:) I love the Sun too bad I don't have ninja skin....I can hear Granny's "Woooo Katie, you better cover your head, that old sun will ruin your skin." It's a fact red heads can't tan....

M.J. during the Alabama
Auburn game

Last night my daughter Lee Ann had to take her totally loved pet to the emergency Vet in Auburn. They kept M.J., said she was comfortable, and sent Lee Ann home and said to come back to see vet at 10:30. We almost lost M.J. last summer when she ate a toothpick. She had surgery and slowly recovered. I hope she's o.k. we all totally adore her. They were playing in the park and she started crying and just kept getting worse.  She is the smartest sweetest dog any of us have ever known. Lee Ann is totally devoted to her and she to Lee Ann.
Last week my cousin Cicely's daughter broke her arm and she commented on how hard it is to see your child suffer. It is the worst torment there is for a mother. Wish I could be there with them....

My Valentine!



With Lee Lee at the Derby

Home with Lola

Halloween after the Hayride!

Tricia center with friends UF

Tricia and Whitney

 Pledge group at UF

Tricia and Rona.....and a little flat bill platypus!

This was Tricia's 2nd Birthday! Left to right Anna Lewis, Marie Holland, Molly Peacock, Tricia, Erin Hayes, Amber Holland.



Winston sings Happy Bday!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS WE LOVE YOU!  





Blue Cheese Dressing and Wings

I have to share this recipe for Blue Cheese Dressing with you. Wade and Tricia and I love it. Tricia called last night at 8:30 and wanted to know if I had any left! She didn't come get it but we did have a little left :)
I have been making wings baked instead of fried.  We like them hope you do too.

Blue Cheese Dressing:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

1/2 lemon, juiced

Pinch Seasoned Salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

5 ounces blue cheese crumbles

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon buttermilk

Pinch black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl with whisk and store in jar with tight lid. I usually use a glass pint jar with a screw on top. I added a little more black pepper in the end....We like black pepper...... 

Kept refrigerated, the dressing will stay fresh in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.    If it last that long!!!

I made this dressing earlier this week and we love it. I made green salads with romaine lettuce and added fresh chopped avocado and croutons.  Delicious….

We also ate the dressing with oven baked chicken wings, they were delicious too.

 

Oven Baked Chicken Wings

Chicken Wing Pieces …..Allow about 5 to 6 wing pieces per person.

Olive oil to coat wings lightly

Salt and Pepper to cover

Morton’s Nature seasons to cover

Coat chicken wings with olive oil and seasonings cover and let stand for about 30 min. in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place in a glass rectangular baking dish large enough to hold a single layer of chicken wing pieces.  Bake in oven until browned flip and bake until till browned. The time will vary depending on how large the wings are and how many wings you have. Just get them crispy brown.  Serve with blue cheese dressing and sliced celery and carrots. 

You can add spicy wing sauce if you like just brown the wings as stated above and remove from oven coat with hot wing seasoning, ( We like Moore’s brand) and return to the oven for about 5 min.

Serve Hot……

Momma's Lemon Cheese Cake

There are several versions of this cake. Momma uses more lemon in her recipe than most recipes.
Momma usually uses a Duncan Hines butter recipe cake mix for the cake divided into 4- 9" cake pans and makes the icing as follows.

Lemon Cheese Icing

3 large or 4 medium to small lemons zested and squezzed
8 egg yolks
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg white

Seperate the eggs while they are cold.

Mix together lemon juice and zest, egg yolks, sugar and butter, and 1 egg white in large sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until thick enough to spread. Stir constantly do not leave it. This will probably take about 10 min.

Lay small strips of wax paper on cake plate where the edges of cake layers will lay to keep icing off plate. When cake has cooled and the icing has cooled to point where you can touch without being burned layer icing and cake. Ice sides of cake also. Let stand for an hour and remove wax paper. Store at room temperature in Cake Dome. Do not refrigerate.

Mickey Wayne and note to Aunt A. V.

Cousin Joe Watford sent this picture of Mickey Wayne along with the note that Granny sent to Joe's Mom, Granny's Aunt A.V.

Lott/Kelly Family Pictures

                                                                 The Lott Family
I am guessing this picture was taken in Dale County Alabama around 1924. Momma Peacock, Lota Lott, looks like she is about 5 years old in this picture. She was born in 1919.
Left to right back row Oneil, Jim, Burt
Left to right front row Damon, Charlie, Tom, Mary Francis Rebecca Kelly, Lucille, Austin, and Lota



Mary Francis Rebecca Kelly Lott, known as Mollie Lott was born in Argyle, Florida in 1879. I hope this picture can be restored.



These pictures are labeled Joe Lott and Job Lott. I think they may be Tom Lott's brothers.

This picture is labeled "Miss Lota Lott" It is old enough to be Momma Peacock but we don't know for sure. It was in a box of old cards and letters that belonged to Grandma Mollie.

This picture is labeled Corine Weed. I am guessing she might be a niece of Grandma Mollie's.

These pictures were on their way to be burned when I found them in a box of dirty papers and trash from Uncle Damon's portable storage building. I don't know if Momma Peacock ever saw them. I also found letters and cards that belonged to Grandma Mollie and letters from Uncle Damon to Grandma Mollie and Uncle Charlie while he was in WWII. Grandma Mollie lived with Uncle Damon before she came to live with Momma Peacock in 1963. She passed away in 1964.

This is a cute picture of Tiny Bruner, daugther of Cassie Kelly Bruner. Cassie was Grandma Mollie's sister.
I am going to visit Tiny this Friday in Alabama. She is now in her 80's. She has been researching the Kelly Family history for 60 years. She will soon be ready to record her documented history in The Library of Congress. I am very excited to visit with her.

This is my Mom, Patricia's first grade picture.  Sooo Cute!

This is Momma Peacock's brother Charlie in grammer school.

Charlie Lott in the early 40's WWII.

Austin and Lorene Lott in the early 40's.

I will have more on the Lotts and Kelly family after I talk to Tiny. I promised her I would not post her information on the Kelly's until she has it recorded in The Library of Congress. I have more pictures coming soon too.